Category: Family Law

A recent article in Virginia Lawyers Weekly described the Guardian ad Litem system as broken. While the system isn’t perfect, Guardians ad Litem and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) play a critical role in our cases. A Guardian ad Litem (or GAL) is a court-appointed attorney whose job is to represent the interests of someone […]

As of July 1st Virginia judges have the power to order a support-paying spouse to maintain an existing life insurance policy for the spouse receiving support. As reported in Virginia Lawyers Weekly, this new statute fills a gap in the law. Previously the court had authority only to order the support-paying spouse to maintain an […]

Can you disinherit a spouse? Virginia law was changed this year to adjust a spouse’s “elective share” rights in Virginia under Code § 64.2-308.4. Prior to the passage of this law, a surviving spouse could claim up to one-third of their deceased spouse’s “augmented estate” (a calculation that takes into account all of the various […]

By Kristina J. Wenberg All parents have a duty to support their children under Virginia law. Virginia courts must follow specific statutory guidelines to calculate child support in all child support cases, and the guideline calculation is presumed correct. However, courts may deviate from that guideline calculation by considering several statutory factors. One such factor […]

By Maryse C. Allen You have installed tile in your kitchen and refinished furniture, painted the children’s bedrooms and even built your deck. You are a resourceful, intelligent and thrifty person. Why not do your own divorce? All it should take is a little research on the Internet, maybe a trip to a law library, […]

By Krista N. Yancey, Associate Attorney The Virginia General Assembly has recently changed the law pertaining to pendente lite support orders. The amendment—which overwhelmingly passed in both the Senate and House of Delegates and will become effective July 1, 2016—provides that “[pendente lite support] shall be paid from the post-separation income of the obligor unless […]